What we know about Minnesota Catholic schools asking Walz for security funds in 2023 but not getting them

On Aug. 27, 2025, a shooter opened fire through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis while 200 children were celebrating Mass, killing two children and wounding 20 other people. Many online, including the conservative outlet Daily Wire and Catholic news outlets, claimed that years before the shooting, Minnesota bishops had appealed to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz for funding to support nonpublic school security. Per the reports, these pleas went unanswered.

According to one post on Facebook:

Tim Walz had chance to stop the MN Shooting and did Nothing

The tragedy at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis is heartbreaking beyond words. Two innocent children murdered, 17 others wounded — and in a place that should have been one of the safest on earth.

What makes this even worse is that this tragedy was preventable.

Back in April of 2023, Catholic and independent school leaders in Minnesota sent Governor Tim Walz a letter with a clear, urgent warning. They told him there was an “urgent and critical need in Minnesota to make sure our schools are secure and safe.” They pointed out the “recent, and continuing attacks, on our schools in this country and in our state.”

These weren’t just vague concerns. They laid out exactly what was at stake — noting that more than 72,000 students attend independent Catholic, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim schools in Minnesota. They asked for security funding and resources.

And what happened? Nothing. Their request was ignored. The leaders warned:

“We need to ensure that all our schools have the resources to respond to and prevent these attacks from happening to our schools.”

That plea sat on Tim Walz’s desk. He could have acted. He could have made a difference. But he didn’t.

Now families are shattered. A community is grieving. And every parent in Minnesota is asking the same question: Why were these warnings ignored?

(Facebook user Ken Blackwell)

It is correct that in April 2023, the Minnesota Catholic Conference wrote a letter to Walz appealing for security funds for nonpublic schools. We learned that while Walz initially expressed support for such funding he did not do anything about it, but we also learned that the lack of funding boiled down to the legislature not passing the requisite bill. 

What did the Minnesota Catholic Conference ask for?

On April 14, 2023, a letter from Tim Benz and Jason Adkins, president and executive director, respectively, of the MCC, requested Walz provide more funding for nonpublic school security. The letter, which is available on the website for the Minnesota Catholic Conference, was titled, “Letter to Governor Walz: School Safety in Nonpublic Schools,” and responded to the March 2023 Covenant School mass shooting in Tennessee, in which three children and three adults were killed.

The letter asked for Walz to respond to the “increased level” of threats against nonpublic schools, “particularly Jewish and Muslim schools.” It also called for the inclusion of such schools in Walz’s budget recommendations for public schools that year (emphasis ours):

We are asking for your assistance in making sure the Minnesota Legislature enacts your budget recommendation of $50 million to establish the Building and Cyber Security Grant Program and include all schools as eligible for funding, whether they are public, charters or nonpublic schools. The exclusion of one sector of schools — as you know, nonpublic schools serve many students and families in need of services and resources — is a discriminatory act against our students.

Since 2020, nonpublic schools have been advocating to be part of the Safe Schools Program that provides funding to school districts for emergency response training, security upgrades, mental health services, and security resources. The legislation supported by our collective organizations provides state aid to school districts, intermediate school districts, charter schools and nonpublic schools for this program. Unfortunately, this program currently does not cover nonpublic schools, charter schools and intermediate school districts and it is a levy-only program for school districts.

According to the Catholic News Agency, in 2022 Minnesota’s bishops also urged Walz to call a special session of the legislature and include private schools in their “Safe Schools” bill, which would have provided $44 per student for security costs, regardless of the school’s affiliation. The article also noted that the MCC supported comprehensive, statewide gun safety regulations in 2022 and 2023, like expanded background checks and “red flag” orders, which temporarily restrict firearm access to individuals who pose a risk to themselves or others.

What was Walz’s response?

Adkins told the Daily Wire that, in meetings, Walz initially expressed support for including nonpublic schools in the Safe Schools program that would have added funding on a per student basis, but nothing came of it.

“It was raised in discussions between the bishops and Gov. Walz, and he communicated his belief that people should feel safe in their schools and places of worship,” Adkins said. “But the appropriation was not created.”

We reached out to Walz’s office to learn more about the funding options for nonpublic schools. A spokesperson told us:

The Governor cares deeply about the safety of students and has signed into law millions in funding for school safety. The Governor meets with the Catholic Conference on a regular basis. Private schools do indeed receive state funding. They are also eligible for school safety center resources, including trainings. We remain committed to working with anyone who is willing to work with us to stop gun violence and keep our students safe.

In early May 2025, hundreds of students and parents from private schools protested against Walz’s proposal to cut $109 million in state funds over the next year for nonpublic schools for buses, nursing and learning materials. Many of the state’s Republicans backed the protesters while Walz said he would not underfund public schools to give money to “for profit” schools. However, many nonpublic schools in Minnesota are not-for-profit schools as well.  

By mid-May, Walz announced a new budget agreement in which his proposed funding cuts to nonpublic schools were no longer on the table.

Walz’s spokesperson told us over email that $53.4 million (for the 2026 fiscal year) and $57 million (for the 2027 fiscal year) in state taxpayer dollars will go toward supplementing private school budgets, “freeing up room on their bottom lines to fund student safety, wellness, or other priorities.”

We reached out to the MCC for a response on Walz’s position and will update this post if we get more information.

Walz is not solely responsible for this funding

While Walz himself may not have secured funding for nonpublic school security, many other factors have to be taken into account. First, the legislation that could have enacted such funding that year was never passed by the state legislature for public (or nonpublic) schools, something that the governor does not have control over.

Republican Rep. Elliott Engen in March 2023 introduced that legislation, the Safe Haven in Every Local District Act, providing schools with resources to upgrade and install security systems in schools. That bill, which applied to public schools, was never passed, so not even public schools received funding for such security upgrades. The bill was reintroduced in February 2025 and was still pending, as of this writing.

After the August 2025 shooting, Republican Minnesota state Rep. Lisa Demuth told the news media that she would support a $50 million Building and Cyber Security Grant Program (that was referenced in the MCC letter to Walz) and provide security funds to nonpublic schools.

Walz, however, announced that he would call a special session on gun laws and present a comprehensive proposal to lawmakers, while stating that he was limited by a divided legislature. The details of his proposal were unknown.  

“I have made the case and I am calling through legislators to try and make sure they get there, because I can call a special session, I can’t run a special session,” Walz said to the media. “And to be very candid, just in a very evenly divided — I’m going to need some Republicans to break with the orthodoxy and say that we need to do something on guns, and that’s the opportunity right now.”

The issue of using public funds in private schools, particularly religious schools, is fairly controversial. Private schools do have other fundraising outlets and can apply for the federal Nonprofit Security Grant Program through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Authority.

In July 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration cut funding to a program in Minnesota that was geared towards preventing such instances of mass violence. Reporting from The New York Times said documentation revealed that DHS cut $18.5 million in spending on the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships. This program was introduced by former U.S. President Joe Biden and provided grants for mental health services, training programs and resources for state and local law enforcement to prevent potential threats.

In sum …

The issue of school security is multifaceted. While Walz did not actively support the request for more security funds to nonpublic schools, the state legislature was ultimately responsible for passing the requisite bill that would have allowed for such funds — a bill that never went through. Furthermore, federal funding for initiatives that would have prevented such school shootings was also cut, meaning the blame didn’t fall solely on Walz. 

Sources